ANNIHILATION is Netflix’s big budget foray into the sci-fi film genre, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. But who are the cast of the online thriller?

What is Annihilation about?

Released theatrically in February and then on Netflix on March 12 2018, Annihilation pits a ragtag team of military scientists against ‘The Shimmer’, a mysterious quarantine zone of mutated creatures and landscapes.

The plot is based on the first instalment in VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy.

Annihilation follows former US soldier and cellular biology professor Lena (played by Natalie Portman) and her expedition team as they venture into The Shimmer to find a cure fo her husband's illness.

Lena’s soldier husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) is the only surviving member of a previous excursion into the quarantined zone and has succumbed to a mysterious bug.

Annihilation’s official plot synopsis reads: “Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X - a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline.

“Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscape and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.”

Related articles

Who are the cast of Annihilation?

Lena’s venture into The Shimmer is aided by a star studded cast of actors taking on the grim roles of soldiers and scientists.

Oscar winner Natalie Portman leads the pack as Lena, the brains of the operation, who is on a mission to find a cure for her ill husband Kane.

According to Portman, leading an all-female cast of actors was a “completely different” experience than what she is used to.

She told Buzzfeed: “Usually you're the only actress: You're the girl. And that means you're identified as that. And when there's more than one, they have to define you by your personality.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES•NETFLIX

Annihilation cast: The star studded cast is led by actress Natalie Portman

PARAMOUNT PICTURES•GETTY

Annihilation: The cast was praised for being predominantly women

“The side effect of being the only woman in the workplace is that you don't get to share experiences with other women. And it's just incredible to see each other work and be able to support and encourage each other and have that camaraderie.

It was very, very beautiful

Natalie Portman, Annihilation actress

“It was very, very beautiful. Because we've taken it for granted, being the only woman at work — you forget that it isolates and endangers you.

“You lose all of those opportunities for hearing things that are going on, for warning each other about certain situations, for telling each other how to deal with an uncomfortable experience. It was really wonderful.”

Star Wars and Ex-Machina actor Oscar takes on the role of Lena’s husband Kane – a soldier haunted by a mysterious illness contracted inside of The Shimmer.